[Herzog]

Any of you change your own Oil?How easy is it to get to the Oil filter on the IS300? Is there a splash guard under the motor? Also, If you leave your lights on & take the key out of the ignition,will your lights shut off, or stay on. I'm just comparing from an older SC300 I had. Thanks!

 

[IS300lver]

only 4000 miles so i haven't changed the oil yet ...as for the lights ...no matter what setting you have them on ...auto on or whatever they turn off after a few seconds when you take the key out of the ignition ...hope that helps ...

 

[jdogg]

you should be able to use the oil filter from an SC300 (I've seen them at AutoZone) it being the same engine and all

 

[jayrey300]

I have 19.5k miles now. I changed my oil back 2k miles ago. oh gosh, let me tell you how hard it is. It does look easy to remove though.

Ok, i did all the basics:
1. Put a wedge at the rear wheels <check>
2. Lift car with hydraulic floor jack <check>
3. Loosen oil cap <check>
4. Place newspaper on ground
5. Place oil tray/ bin under car
6. Remove oil plug, and let oil drain <check>
7. Loosen oil filter <check>
8. Clean any excess oil from the plug. <check>
9. Tighten oil plug in place. <check>
10. Try to remove old oil filter while there is still old oil in filter. <UNCHECK> for now.......

Taking the old oil filter from the IS was such a drag. Especially when there is old oil in there. Another thing was that i was very clean in the operation. (latex gloves, newspaper on driveway from any possible oil spills. had on hand engine degreeser, gal of gojo, just in case anything could go.)
I tried to insert the new oil filter from top between the engine and the strut tower. it fit through fine. so i removed the new filter and tried to go that direction for removal of the old oil filter. it didnt seem to pass with all those other pipings, etc... Things started to get messy because of the old oil still in there. i started to wipe any excess oil off me and the engine bay. i then got frustrated and just tipped the oil filter downward so that it can dump into the oil bin/tray. Things got really messy after that. the plastic covering was affected by the oil and the suspension components were all full of dripped oil. not only that, the temp outside was about 70 degree and i sweat easily (hereditary). So, with all this going on, i said to myself, i shoulda went to lexus to do this..
I even tried removing the oil from the bottom by removing the plastic shield. I eventually removed it from the bottom.

Now, everything is all jacked. my engine bay was all full of dripped old oil, the platic shield had a pool of it, suspension was covered with it, my latex gloves were ripped here and there and scapped off some skin on my hand, sweat is dropping all over my car,myface,etc.. shop towels were all over the place..GOSH! What a nightmare!...

now, back to my steps and procedures:
11. Clean oil filter housing on engine block. <check>
12. Open a bottle of oil (I used half/half Castrol), dip finger in there and apply oil on oil filter gasket. <check>
13. Insert oil filter from top (between the strut town and engine <check>
14. Hand tighten oil filter until it stops (dont oven tighten it) <check>
15. Turn the oil filter to the left about 1/4 turn <check>
16. Remove oil cap and start adding in oil, when finised, place oil cap back. <check>
17. Remove oil bin/tray and dump into an old gal container and a half. <check>
18. Put it on the curb for recycle day and old newspaper and soaked shop towels into trash can (outside trash can). <check>
19. Lower the car down and remove wheel wedges (this may require you to drive forward a little for removal) <check>
20. Apply engine degreeser on all arears that is affected by old oil dripping (This step is for me and to those who may need it) <check>
21. (optional) i used my compressor to give that high pressure washer feel to remove oil old from car and drive way. and used compress air to dry the engine bay. <check>
22. Use garden hose with the 'Jet' mode set. Make sure you engine is running. use shop towels to dry any wet areas. <check>

Well, i had the experience of a lifetime. It took me an hour to do this where is supposed to take under 20 to 30 mins. i've learned my lesson. well not really because i'll be back at it again..

You can also use the GS300/SC300 oil filter. I recommend FRAM. I bought the other type which is used for stop-go traffic.
Just IMO.

Hope this helps....
-jason

 

[mkaufman]

Answering your lights question.

lover, that's just not true. Set to AUTO, the lights will remain on as long as a door (or the trunk lid, I believe) is open. When all are closed they will turn off automatically after thirty seconds, or if you hit LOCK on your remote twice. Set to ON, I'm pretty sure the behavior is identical except possibly for the off-after-thirty-seconds part. LOCK twice will definitely turn off the lights when all doors are closed even when the selector is set to ON.

 

[Herzog]

JeyRey300,

Damn, that's some description!Heh! On my "92" SC 300 I really didn't have a problem changing the oil filter, which was nice.I was hoping the IS300 was not to bad, sounds like quite a job!I ride my car up on ramps, makes things easier when going under the car. Anyhow, now I know what to expect. Thanks all for the info!

 

[dogofthegods]

the default setting for the lights to stay on after the engine is turned off is 2 minutes, however this can be reprogrammed to be shorter by the dealer.